Faculty Profile:

Bruce Komiske MHA, FACHE

V. P. New Hospital Design and Construction, Erlanger Medical Center

Bruce Komiske is considered a world expert on all facets of creating a children’s hospital. He is a hospital administrator (Duke, MHA), who spent the first half of his career in senior management roles, in major academic medical centers such as Walter Reed, Yale New Haven Hospital and Rhode Island Hospital. It was in Rhode Island, when he was asked to assume responsibility for the creation of the Hasbro Children’s Hospital, where he realized that his real passion in life was to continue to create new hospitals, each more innovative than the last.

It was also at Hasbro, where he learned the value of engaging the parents and patients, as well as the entire community in the planning process. Hasbro featured local artists, a real live zoo in the lobby and a 36” sailboat on the roof of the hospital. It was also the first hospital where Bruce sought out a donation of a real fire tuck for the kids to play on, which has become a tradition in all of the hospitals he has created since.

After opening Hasbro and assuming the CEO role for three years, he spent the next seven years in Westchester, working with the Fareri Family to plan, build and open the Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital, now celebrating its’ 10 year anniversary. The experience of the Fareri Family and the creation of the hospital were recently featured as a major motion picture - Louder than Words – with Timothy Hutton playing Bruce.

From there he did the early planning for the Benioff Children’s Hospital at University of California San Francisco, as well as the Children’s & Women’s Hospital - Sidra Medical Center in Doha, Qatar, a $5 billion project.

In 2008 he was recruited to lead the team to plan and build the Lurie Children’s Hospital ($950M) in downtown Chicago, the tallest children's hospital in the world (23 stories). This hospital has received many design awards and was opened ahead of schedule, $75 M under budget and with over $650 M raised from the community.

In Oct. 2014, Bruce was recruited by the CEO, Kevin Spiegel to Erlanger Medical Center to lead the team to create the new Children’s Hospital for Chattanooga, as well as an innovative “Healthy Lifestyle” campus in the suburbs.

Bruce has published seven books, including Amazon 5 star rated World Best Designed Children’s Hospitals Vol. I, II & III and is a featured speaker and consultant in over 26 countries on, children’s hospitals, healthcare design, healing environments, engaging the community in a hospital project, project management and utilizing philanthropy to achieve these efforts.